Written by Prakriti Panwar, a grade 11 student.

The Indian State of Assam is widely known to be home to the rare one-horned rhinos. Other than that, it is also known for the river Brahmaputra, the ninth-largest river in the world. This is one of the main reasons why Assam floods every year.

Then why is it in the news this year?

Assam faces annual floods due to its topography (the arrangement of physical features of an area) and is a flood-prone region. However, this year the devastation and destruction is much more. Many of the rivers, including Brahmaputra and Dhansiri, are flowing above the ‘danger mark’. The floods have caused landslides, which have been a major factor in aggravating the strong flow of water.

According to MS Manivannan, head of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), most of the embankments which were meant to prevent the floods have been ruptured due to excess rainfall and release of water from other states as well as the neighbouring country of Bhutan.

The floods, coupled with erosions as well as the Covid-19 crisis have managed to put the state in a pickle. As far as immediate actions are concerned, rescue operations and relief camps aided by the government have been set up.

In similar situations in Assam itself, most of the deaths are reported from ‘near the rivers’ when locals try to cross the river of go for fishing. To reduce such unfortunate casualties, the authorities are now focusing on making inhabitants of vulnerable areas aware.

The heavy rains and floods have also affected neighbouring countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh. Few inhabitants of Bangladesh also lost their lives due to ‘lightning strikes’.

In these floods, the people, as well as the wildlife of Assam are showing extreme grit and strength as they overcome these multiple hurdles. But it’s going to get worse. Herre’s is the warning for the 24th for the state: